Divination is one of the most resistant institutions of ritual life in West African countries such as Senegal and Gambia. Rather than being practised at the margins of an Islamic orthodoxy,... Show moreDivination is one of the most resistant institutions of ritual life in West African countries such as Senegal and Gambia. Rather than being practised at the margins of an Islamic orthodoxy, Senegambian divination is embedded in and integrating other forms of Islamic ritual. By focusing on the existential value of these practices rather than on their outward formal aspects, divination and Islam come into view as sharing in the construction of a cultural space of hope and prospect that allows the subject to deal with his or her most urgent concerns, predicaments, and afflictions. Show less
